Sources inside of Warner Music Group tell AudioRevolution.com that they will soon drop the retail price of DVD-Audio titles (currently as high as $26) to between $16.99 to $18.99. This strategy is designed to get more consumers, especially those with DVD-Video players hooked up in a 5.1 home theater, to start buying DVD-Audio versions of new music as opposed to the more technologically limited Compact Disc.

Much like the first major drop in the price of the CD in the mid-1980’s, consumers will likely respond positively to this news especially those who have AV systems that can replay the default surround sound track through a DVD-Video player connected digitally or enthusiasts who already own a DVD-Audio player and have it connected with the 5.1 analog outputs for the higher resolution MLP surround sound.

Smaller labels that are supporting DVD-Audio in its infancy have mixed feelings. The added margin in a $25 disc allows them to turn a profit on relatively low record sales volumes. In a perfect world, more music enthusiasts will be adopting the new DVD-Audio format thus the smaller labels should have a larger audience to sell their specialty recordings to. Record stores shouldn’t be too upset considering, sources inside Warner Music say the percentage of profit of the discs for retailers will remain the same despite the lower price.